California Shedding Surplus Real Estate In Hot Market

A 470-acre tract of Chino, Calif., land has sold for $120 million, clearing the way for developer SunCal Companies to build a master-planned community on the site called College Park. The sale price exceeds $250,000 per acre.

The state of California sold the land to SunCal and partner Lehman Brothers as a way to sell surplus land to trim California’s massive state budget deficit. California’s Department of General Services (DGS) expects the sale to bring in $104 million to state coffers.

Expect more surplus property sales in the future, too. In May 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger issued Executive Order S-10-04, directing state agencies to review all their real estate assets and determine which ones are no longer needed for state use. DGS and the State and Consumer Services Agency are now working with the Legislature to obtain the authority to sell unused or underutilized properties.

SunCal will develop 2,200 homes and a 7.5 acre retail/commercial center on the site. The state of California donated 140 acres of adjoining land to serve as parkland. The developer reportedly beat out a host of bidders that included Lennar Homes, KB Home, Centex Homes and Lewis Operating Companies.